The federal trial of fired San Antonio police officer Dean Gutierrez wound down today with jurors not getting to hear his version of what took place between him and a transsexual who accused him of rape.

The Batavia School Superintendent met reporters on Tuesday to discuss Monday night's meeting with parents of high school students about the male science teacher in Batavia who is in the process of becoming a woman. The teacher has not yet had a sex change operation, but he plans to dress as a woman, and use a female name.

Four parents asked that their children be transferred out of the classroom of a high school teacher after learning the teacher is pursuing a sex change and will begin the school year as a woman, the district's superintendent said Tuesday.

A human resource planner who made history four years ago by becoming the first city employee to transition openly from male to female in the workplace says she fears for her safety, feels ostracized and is looking for another job.

A Russian policeman has attempted suicide after performing a transgender surgery on himself. He was found with a rope around his neck in a pool of blood — his genitals had been cut off and the wound scrupulously stitched up. Painkillers and a bloody needle, as well as the remains of his genitals, were lying on the floor next to him.

segunda-feira, agosto 28, 2006

Broward County's Human Rights Board has been considering the addition of 'gender identity' language to the county's human rights ordinance, which already bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The man who led police to the body of a transgender Newark teen apologized to the victim's family Friday before being sentenced to 11 years in prison in a case that focused the country's attention on violence against transgender individuals.

Thousands of taxpayer dollars are annually spent on hormone treatments, laser hair removal and makeup for "transgender" prison inmates and now one convicted murderer is suing the Massachusetts Department of Corrections to pay for an expensive sex-change surgery, claiming that he is a woman trapped in a man's body.

The first openly gay New Zealand Member of Parliament, Tim Barnett, made a special appearance at the LGBT Community Center on Aug. 17, focusing on his political role impacting human rights and sexual freedom.

A forensic serologist testifying Friday in the federal trial of a fired San Antonio police officer accused of raping a transsexual said DNA from semen retrieved by investigators matches the geneticp rofile of the officer.

The long legal saga of four young men who were responsible for the brutal beating and strangulation death of Newark transgender teenager Gwen Araujo nearly four years ago is expected to end Friday with the sentencing of 23-year-old Jaron Nabors of Newark.

Li Guohua, a transsexual from Anhua County, Hunan Province, was refused entrance to the Miss Shenzhen competition by the organizing committee, which cited age and certain restrictions as reasons, according to the Southern Metropolitan News on August 25.

A lawyer for a fired San Antonio police officer accused of raping a transsexual poked holes in his accuser's testimony, but she left the witness stand Thursday without questions asked about her past prostitution convictions.

For people who believe they were born the wrong gender, the sex change they're yearning for can easily be found in this crowded capital. The surgery is so common that it's advertised in bold print in newspaper classifieds.

Last week Bay Windows reported that management at Bally Total Fitness in Worcester told a transgender member, Natasha Lee West, who lives fulltime as female but who has not had sex reassignment surgery, that she would have to use the men's bathroom.

The Human Rights Commission says the Crown Law opinion on protection against discrimination for transgender people is "timely" as they have just launched an inquiry into the human rights situation for transgender people.

quinta-feira, agosto 24, 2006

National's justice spokesperson today expressed concern over cross-dressing, in the wake of the announcement by Labour MP Georgina Beyer that she would withdraw her private member's Bill that sought specific human rights protections on the basis of gender identity.

Labour MP Georgina Beyer denies political pressure led to today's planned withdrawal of her private member's Bill to enshrine human rights protections for transgendered people. Beyer said she and her supporters conducted their campaign with "finesse", and her Bill was clearly the "catalyst" for debate, which led to yesterday's Crown Law opinion.

The transgender substitute teacher hired to work at the elementary school in Eagleswood has now applied to teach in the Pinelands Regional School District, the district superintendent confirmed Tuesday.

For several days now, a conspicuous "For Rent" sign has hung over the door of a gay bar on Christopher Street.It would hardly be news: Bars open and close every day—and this one isn't even the oldest one on the block. But because of its name—the Stonewall—the bar has assumed for itself a certain inevitability.

A transsexual claiming damages of £500,000 for discrimination at work, in what is thought to be the largest discrimination claim to be launched over a sex change, has been ordered to leave the country by the Home Office.

Taking its cue from mainstream entertainment – because how else would you know if a story is relevant? – Sunday's New York Times dived into the realm of transgendered people and how, like a mixed race child, sometimes neither side wants them.

terça-feira, agosto 22, 2006

[USA] Gender Confusion Distresses TeensRob never felt like he fit in. The 16-year-old high school student didn't like "masculine" interests like sports, cars or gaming like the rest of the boys. He felt more comfortable around girls. And he knew it sounded strange, but he felt like he should be a girl.

[New Zealand] Transsexual pulls out of champsInjury has ruled controversial transsexual Canadian rider Michelle Dumaresq out of next week's world mountain biking championships in Rotorua.

[USA/Iran] Iranian fatwa seen as victory for trans peopleThe execution of two Iranian teens last year reportedly hanged for being gay served as a grim reminder of the Islamist regime's policy that condones torture, even the death penalty, for gays. It might seem logical to assume that such harsh policies would also apply to transgender people, but, surprisingly, that is not necessarily the case.

[MI,USA] County bans discrimination over gender identityIn May 2004, Kalamazoo County worker Karen Pease returned her15-year pin when the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners rejected a proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the county's nondiscrimination list.[CA,USA] Mookey's Story -- Transgender Youths Find Support, But Challenges RemainEditor's Note: A new generation of transgender youths is finding more societal acceptance and support than ever before. But hardships remain, particularly for young people from immigrant backgrounds. Carolyn Goossen, a writer for New America Media, spends times with Mookey, a 24-year-old Chinese-American college student just beginning treatment with sex hormones.[MA,USA] Health club harasses transwomanNatasha Lee West, a transgender woman, was a member of the BallyTotal Fitness club in Worcester for one year in what she calls "malemode" before deciding to take the step to present herself as femaleat the gym last June. For the past three years she has lived asfemale everywhere except for on the job and at the gym, but afterfinalizing her name change, getting breast implants and getting anew driver's license with her female name and photo, she decided thetime was right to live as female full time. West said when she firsttold the management at the gym in June that she was going to beliving full time as female, manager Dale Stoddard seemed supportive.She showed Stoddard the document approving her name change from herbirth name to Natasha as well as her new license.[Australia] Clifford DIVA's Newest LegendAs a boy growing up in the Sydney suburb of Auburn, Penny Clifford dreamed of a life on stage."From the age of six or seven my Mum would take me off to dance school,” Clifford recalled this week.“At the end of each year we’d do the big dance eisteddfod and so I sort of had that in my blood. When I was about 17 I went to a club in Oxford Street called Capriccio’s. They used to have mammoth drag shows and that was the first show I’d seen. The whole thing just really appealed to me.”

[VT,USA] Difficult TransitionsCoralyn Guidry's 20-year-old son Michael looks like a typical young man. He has short, brown hair, so dark it's nearly black. It continues down his cheeks in thick sideburns that extend to his jaw. The whiskers on his otherwise pale chin suggest that he has forgotten to shave. Dark, downy hairs sprout on his arms, beyond the sleeves of the T-shirt that hangs on his flat chest, and on his legs below the cuffs of his shiny green, knee-length athletic shorts. [Canada/Iran] I Know That I AmA horrifying glimpse into the lives of Iranian transwomen[Japan] Transsexual politician demands louder Japanese gay prideJapan`s gay community must make itself known in the country, the country`s only transsexual politician announced last week.[Bahamas] Female ImpersonatorsIn Las Vegas and other cities in the United States and around the world, being a "Drag Queen" is a metaphor for making big bucks as an entertainer. Here in the Bahamas and the Caribbean at large, "Drag Queen" is merely a label that conjures up scary images for many parents.[USA]Enough with the gender queer androgyny!Musician Julia Serano is tired of all the femininity bashing and she wants it to stop. She argues that those who decry the value and authenticity of femininity express unconscious patriarchal percepts.

"An important yet often overlooked aspect of traditional sexism [is] that it targets people not only for their femaleness, but also for their expressions of femininity," Serano says.

quinta-feira, agosto 17, 2006

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[USA] New Homeland Security Rule Would Out Transgender People at WorkThe National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) receives calls regularly from transgender people across the country who have been "outed" to their employers by the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) unfair gender "no-match" employment letter policy. We continue to work with individuals to mitigate the impact these letters are having on people's medical privacy and employment security.[Australia] Sex changer remains male on birth formsA woman who underwent sex change surgery has failed to prove that she was discriminated against when her attempt to change her gender on her birth certificate was refused.

[USA] The Forgotten VeteransA few years back, a reporter from the Sacramento Bee wrote a scathing article about a small veterans memorial in front of the California State Capital Building dedicated to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender veterans.[Australia] Sex swap murderer granted leave to sue prisonA transsexual murderer is suing Mulawa women's prison for unlawful discrimination, claiming a guard kept calling her "him" and that she was segregated because she is HIV positive.[CA, USA] Dressed outOn Friday nights at Riverside's VIP Nightclub and Restaurant, 27-year-old Johnny Bruner sits in front of a lighted mirror in a cramped dressing room backstage.

terça-feira, agosto 15, 2006

cuidado com as trans

[USA] Boy Changed to 'Girl' Yearned to be Boy"Only years afterward was the sad truth revealed, the Culture and Family Institute spokesman explains. 'All along, this little boy was yearning to be a boy, did not want to wear dresses, rejected his female identity,' he says. 'And this came out later in Rolling Stone magazine, and then in a book called As Nature Made Him by John Colapinto -- how Money falsified the findings in order to prove that gender is just a construct in your head.'"[UK] Police seek cross-dresserLondon police have released a sketch of a cross-dressing male suspect wanted in connection with a sexual assault last week, with hopes information from the public will help identify him. [USA] Camp Trans Confronts Transphobia at Michigan Women's Music FestivalCamp Trans brings together trans men, trans women, as well as non-trans allies into the struggle for trans-equality and the end of the Michigan Women's Music Festival's (MWMF) policy of excluding trans women. This year we're sharpening our focus on ending the policy and organizing to fight transphobia in our local communities. In addition to activities and outreach with festival attendees, we are planning workshops, facilitated discussions and training oriented towards grassroots activism![Malaysia] Transvestites rob 'customer'Two transvestites became aggressive and robbed a man who sought their "services" after an argument over price yesterday.[Nigeria] Homosexual Plans Surgery to Become WomanThe first glance gives you the impression of a young lady-retouched hair, beardless face, earrings and even protruding breasts. That is how this transvestite young man dresses. After practicing commercial anal sex for a decade, the gay now decides to undergo surgery to become a woman so that the society would stop scolding him for immorality!

domingo, agosto 13, 2006

[USA] TransNation: Trans JudaismIn 2003, Reuben Zellman became the first out transgender person accepted into a Jewish rabbinical school, an experience he describes as both a tremendous privilege and a challenge.[Malaysia] 10 Minutes With Harisu: A role model for transsexualsPossibly the best-known transsexual in Asia, Korean actress and singer Harisu (Lee Hyo Ri) was in Kuching recently to shoot Possessed, a horror flick which also stars Amber Chia. Harisu speaks to SU AZIZ on her role in the movie.

Porto Pride 1

[MD, USA]Political TransitionDemocrat Dana Beyer fights to be Maryland's first transgender delegate[Australia] Breakfast On PlutoDirected by Neil Jordan ( The Crying Game ) and based on an elaborate yarn written by Pat McCabe, Breakfast On Pluto stars the Golden Globe-nominated Cillian Murphy as the misadventurous Patrick "Kitten" Braden.[India] Transsexuals seek voter ID cardsHundreds of transsexuals took out a rally here on Wednesday urging the State government to implement a charter of demands, including the issuing of voter identity cards to them. [WA, USA] Medicaid Leaves the Sex-Change BusinessWashington State Medicaid officials will stop funding the controversial surgeries that cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.[TX, USA] Montrose prostitution raises worryMontrose, an eclectic and vibrant community, has long possessed a seamier side known to attract troubled, homeless youth and male prostitutes dressed as women.

Washington Medicaid officials are taking steps to end publicly funded sex-change surgery. However, the state is required to pay for at least two more operations and will continue to cover hormone treatment and psychotherapy for low-income people diagnosed with gender-identity disorders.

THOUSANDS of women and increasing numbers of men take time out to have cosmetic surgery. Breast implants, nose jobs, tummy tucks and face lifts are no longer the preserve of the rich and famous as cosmetic surgeons compete for our money with promises of a "new you".

But what about the time you take off work to have surgery? Is it sick leave or should it be counted as holiday entitlement? It's an area that can cause friction between employee and employer.

domingo, agosto 06, 2006

[TX,USA] Transgender sergeant reassigned to dispatchNearly two months after transgender Houston police Sgt. Jack Oliver outed himself to colleagues, the officer has voluntarily transferred to the Emergency Communications Division until his transition from man to woman is complete.[Canada] Slight against transsexual rival could cost racerThe Canadian Cycling Association is waiting to hear from downhill racer Danika Schroeter by Friday on whether she will appeal a suspension for mocking Canadian women's champion Michelle Dumaresq, a transsexual.[New Zealand/Canada] Beyer: GLBT conference was "inspiring"A global LGBT rights conference, held in Montreal earlier this week, was an "empowering" and "most inspiring experience", reports Labour MP Georgina Beyer, who contributed to both the LGBT Politicians Workshop and the Asia and Pacific Plenary Session. Beyer says New Zealanders often underestimate the impact she has globally, as a speaker and as the world's first transgender MP.

sábado, agosto 05, 2006

[UK]Sex-change Dad-of-five Is Shot In Phone BoxA sex-change dad-of five was beaten up and shot with an airgun for taking too long in a public telephone box.[Italie] Une transsexuelle colombienne assassinée dans la province de Trento«C'est un cas typique de crime haineux contre une transsexuelle dans la fleur de l'âge.» C'est par ces mots que la députée transgenre Vladimir Luxuria a commenté le meurtre commis en fin de semaine dernière à Gardolo, petite ville de la province de Trento.[Sweden] Skinheads assault Pride visitorsThree people visiting the Pride festival in the Söder area of Stockholm were assaulted on Thursday night. One of them was taken to hospital suffering from back and head injuries.[GA,USA] Sound Off: Trans prostitutes need help, not scornA reader suggested that "we are mostly law-abiding citizens,"challenging activist DeeDee Chamblee's suggestion that sex work is inevitable for transgender citizens as "an insult," and suggesting that Chamblee find alternatives to prostitution for these people.[USA] Rick Santorum signs statement defending transgender rightsOn Wednesday, Senator Rick Santorum (R - PA) became the 170th Member of Congress to affirm that they do not discriminate in their own employment practices based on an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity and _expression.